NFL Player News

Dave Spadaro of the Eagles' official site relays that Gainwell -- who the team took in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft -- "has had a lot of touches in camp as the coaches move him around the formation and take advantage of his receiving skills and his open-field ability."

Spadaro adds that beyond top options Miles Sanders and Boston Scott, roles in the team's backfield aren't yet clearly defined. Also in the mix for slotting on the Eagles' RB depth chart are veterans Jordan Howard and Kerryon Johnson, but Gainwell -- who's listed at 5-foot-9, 200 pounds -- is a player to track leading up to Week 1, as he has an opportunity to claim a portion of the team's passing-down work in his first season as a pro.

Gordon, rookie second-round pick Javonte Williams and Mike Boone have mixed in with the Broncos' first-team offense during early training camp practices, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com reports.

Due to experience alone, Gordon should be the leader in the clubhouse to head Denver's backfield, and he at the very least has job security after receiving a $2 million roster bonus when he reported to the team in late July. Still, the Broncos traded up to select Williams, who ripped off 7.3 YPC en route to 1,140 yards and 19 touchdowns in 11 games last season at North Carolina. Meanwhile, Boone arrived this offseason on a two-year deal, and holdover Royce Freeman is adept as both a runner and a receiver. It remains to be seen what kind of workload Gordon can expect this fall, but he may find it difficult to average the 16.5 touches per game that he got in his first year with the team in 2020.

Clement is outperforming Devontae Booker at Giants training camp, according to Zack Rosenblatt of The Newark Star-Ledger.

With Saquon Barkley (knee) on the PUP list, Booker has mostly worked as the top running back in practice, as was expected after he signed a two-year, $6 million contract in March. Clement settled for a one-year, $990,000 deal a couple months later, but it sounds like he's now pushing Booker for what could be the Week 1 starting job (if Barkley isn't ready). The Giants also have Alfred Morris and rookie sixth-round pick Gary Brightwell in the backfield, though the latter reportedly hasn't seen many reps on offense at training camp.

Vaughn said Friday that he's feeling more confident heading into Year 2, especially with regard to his role on special teams, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports.

Coach Bruce Arians highlighted special teams as a necessary area of improvement for Vaughn back in June minicamp, and the second-year running back appears to have taken those words to heart. As Greg Auman of The Athletic reports, Vaughn has also prioritized improving his consistency as a pass catcher. The 24-year-old won't have an easy path to offensive snaps in the upcoming campaign, with veteran Giovani Bernard now also in the mix behind Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones, but a strong preseason could at least help him be more involved than he was as a rookie (31 touches in 10 appearances).

Snell didn't record any touches in the Steelers' 16-3 win over the Cowboys in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game.

Najee Harris is in line to serve as the Steelers' lead back to begin the regular season, and he started Thursday's contest and recorded eight touches. Jaylen Samuels, Kalen Ballage and Anthony McFarland all recorded carries behind Harris, but Snell was left out of the offensive mix in the preseason opener. The 2019 fourth-rounder had the chance to secure a larger role in James Conner's absence last season but is in danger of losing his spot on the 53-man roster ahead of Week 1, Brooke Pryor of ESPN reports.

McFarland rushed three times for nine yards and hauled in his lone target for six yards in the Steelers' 16-3 preseason win over the Cowboys in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game.

McFarland had a nine-yard rush in Thursday's preseason opener that was Pittsburgh's longest rush of the game, but he failed to generate any yardage on his other two carries. The 2020 fourth-rounder is competing for a secondary role in the Steelers' backfield with Jaylen Samuels, Kalen Ballage and Benny Snell.

The Ravens activated Edwards from the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.

Edwards tested positive for COVID-19 on July 27 and has spent the time since progressing through the league's related protocols, so Friday's session will mark his first on-field activity of training camp. The 26-year-old running back, who inked a two-year extension with the Ravens back in June, can resume operating as the team's No. 2 running back behind J.K. Dobbins.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network relays that Barkley's rehab from a major knee injury has been going "exceptionally well" and speculates that the running back could make his season debut somewhere between Week 1 and Week 3.

Barkley's availability for Week 1 is still unclear, as that estimate implies, and could tilt one way or the other once he resumes practicing, but it does appear as though he'll avoid starting the coming campaign on the PUP list and will thus have an opportunity to work his way back into the mix early on this season. Though a Week 1 return has not being ruled out at this stage, we suspect the Giants aren't inclined to rush their star back anyhow, with Rapoport indicating that this a "long-term play" for the team.

Elliott was among the Cowboys' key players who didn't take the field in Thursday's Hall of Fame game against the Steelers, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News reports.

The team was predictably cautious with established starters like Elliott on Thursday, which paved the way for Rico Dowdle to lead the way with eight carries for 43 yards in Dallas' 16-3 loss. Also in the mix were Brenden Knox (four carries), JaQuan Hardy (three carries) and Tony Pollard (two carries). The Cowboys have three more exhibition games in which to get Elliott some preseason touches, but we suspect that if/when that does occur, the running back's workload won't be extensive.

Wilkins (hamstring) returned to practice Friday, George Bremer of The Anderson Herald Bulletin reports.

Wilkins had been held out of practice since Tuesday due to a minor hamstring injury, but he's now been given the green light to rejoin teammates on the field. The 2018 fifth-round pick handled a career-high 84 carries last season, though though his YPC dropped down to 3.7 after sitting at 5.6 and 6.0 in 2018 and 2019.